The Murder
by Warrior Cats 101 Wings Of Fire
Summary: There is a cat. A cat from the dark forest. One that will try to murder a whole clan.
1. Chapter 1 (The dark shadow)

**This is my first story with Frostkit so I hope you like it!**

It was a beautiful green-leaf day and lots of drama was going on in the nursery...

"Ouch!", squeaked Frostkit, "You stepped on my tail!"

"Whoops", said Blizzardkit. He lifted his snowy white tail and fell over.

"Gotcha!", said Plaidkit.

"Hey!" Blizzardkit got back up, "Quit that out!"

Plaidkit laughed. Snowpelt nudged Plaidkit aside, "What were you doing?"

"Uh, uh I rolled a moss ball in between Blizzardkit's legs", he mumbled. "Well don't do it again", Snowpelt scolded. Then she padded over to Goldenheart.

A few minutes later Gemkit came in. "Hi", squeaked Gemkit. "Hi", muttered Plaidkit. "Guys come quick!", said Gemkit.

"Huh?"

"Just follow me and don't make a single peep".

"Ok".

They padded toward the warriors den, moving their feet slowly so that they didn't make any sound in the grass.

"There!", whispered Gemkit. Plaidkit, Frostkit, and Blizzardkit crouched down so that they were well hidden in the grass.

"Why is your fur so white?", asked Plaidkit.

Frostkit and Blizzardkit exchanged glances. _Who was he talking about? Probably her since Plaidkit never ever_ _looked at Blizzardkit._

"What is it?", asked Frostkit

"Nothing".

"Let's go to Sunningrocks", meowed Plaidkit.

"Ok!", Frostkit mewed, excitedly. "But what about the...". Frostkit cut off when she noticed that Plaidkit was gone. She padded over to the river. A tiny speck of fur was getting tossed through the waves.

"Plaidkit!", Gemkit screamed.

"Hang in Plaidkit", Blizzardkit called. He fluffed out his fur and leaped into the water.

"Blizzardkit!", yelled Frostkit.

Finally it seamed as if they were both gonna drown, but then a white furred head and a patched furred head appeared near the first stepping stone. Gemkit and Frostkit sighed with relief.

"I caught a fish!", said Plaidkit, excitedly. He laid out a large pink fish.

"Let's eat", cried Gemkit, "I'm starving". Gemkit crouched down and took a bite of the fish. "Yuck!" The fish tasted so slimy and meaty. Blizzardkit, Frostkit, and Plaidkit took a step away from the fish. They didn't want it now.

"Come on let's go home", mewed Frostkit.

The other kits nodded and they ran home. But just before they left, a dark thing that looked like a cat appeared right in front of them. Frostkit squinted at it. It looked like a cat. And it was dark so... It was a shadow.


	2. Chapter 2 (Allegiances)

**This is the second chapter! Which is gonna be kinda boring because it's about allegiances. :(**

 **Thunderclan:** _ **This is another generation , i'm not copying**_

 **Leader:** Dapplestar- Dappled she-cat with green eyes

 **Deputy:** Icepool- Sleek white tom with piercing blue eyes and ice sharp claws

 **Medicine Cat:** Poppystem- Brown she-cat with red starbursts in fur if in sunlight and dark blue eyes

Warriors:

Hollowstep- Pale grey she-cat with yellow eyes

Spotteddust- Spotted grey she-cat with green eyes

Brownhawk- Brown tom with alarming glowing yellow eyes

Goldenheart- Dark brown tabby tom with flash of golden fur on chest and bright blue eyes

 _Apprentice- Bramblepaw_

Ravenwatcher- Redish tom with pale blue eyes

Larkcloud- Grey she-cat with a little bit of white on the edges of fur with dark blue eyes

Ivytail- Black she-cat with green eyes

Bouncefern- Dark grey tom with green eyes

Archsnow- White tom with battle scarred ears and light blue eyes

 _Apprentice- Rowanpaw_

Snowsong- Snowy white she-cat with blue eyes

Goosewing- Grey tom with yellow eyes

Sheepfur- White she-cat with soft fur and green eyes

Owlblaze- Tom with flame colored pelt and brown eyes

Owlwing- Brown tom with brown eyes

Squirrelcloud- Light brown she-cat with very pale blue eyes

Tangleberry- Grey she-cat with a scent of lemons on her fur and cheerful blue eyes

 _Apprentice- Tanglepaw_

Shrewleaf- Black tom with light green eyes

Stonespot- Dull grey furred tom with dark blue eyes

Poppypuddle- Amber colored she-cat with light blue eyes

Sunfang- Orangeish brownish tom with unusually orange colored eyes

 _Apprentice- Starlingpaw_

Marshfang- Dark brown tom with green eyes

Pebblepuddle- Light grey she-cat with smoky black ears and light green eyes

 **Apprentices:**

Rowanpaw- Light brown tom with green eyes

Bramblepaw- Dark brown tabby tom with brown eyes

Tanglepaw- Light grey she-cat with yellow eyes

Starlingpaw- White she-cat with bright blue eyes

 **Queens:  
** Snowpelt- White she-cat with green eyes and pink nose (mother to Gemkit, Frostkit, Tawnykit, Redkit, Plaidkit, Foxkit)

Flyberry- Grey she-cat with spots on ankle with yellow eyes (mother to Deerkit, Lillykit, Whitekit)

Sweetleaf- Ginger she-cat with light blue eyes and a white tail (mother to Rainkit, Blizzardkit, Finchkit, Hailkit)

 **Elders:**

Flowertail- Beautiful dappled she-cat with warm amber eyes

Salmonspot- Black tom with a spot of pink on leg and dull grey eyes

Foxflame- Red-brown tom with yellow eyes

Antbriar- Silvery she-cat with blue eyes

 **Riverclan:**

 **Leader:** Troutstar- Brown tom with glowing yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Brightpelt- Light ginger she-cat with glossy pelt and green eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Rainshine- Small gray tom with dark blue eyes

 **Warriors:**

Rubblestream- Dark gray tom with light gray stripes and shiny yellow eyes

 _Carppaw- Beautiful gray she-cat with light blue eyes_

Smokepelt- Light gray she-cat with blue eyes

Finchtail- Brownish redish tom with green eyes

 _Lionpaw- Golden tom with fur around his head like a lion and yellow eyes_

Dewblaze- Clear gray she-cat with blazing yellow eyes

Dawnskip- Ginger she-cat with green eyes

Shrewclaw- Gray tom with large claws and light blue eyes

 _Salmonpaw- Light gray tom with a hint of pink in his eyes and light green eyes_

Sapclaw- Ginger tom with orange eyes

 **Queens:**

Lillystream- Black she-cat with blue eyes (mother to Wingkit, Fishkit)

Gingerpelt- Ginger she-cat with green eyes (mother to Lionkit, Salmonkit, Guppykit)

 **Elders:**

Pikeclaw- Black tom with pale green eyes

Tetratail- Little white she-cat with shiny blue eyes


	3. Chapter 3 (Apprenticed)

**It's late green-leaf which means...**

"We're going to be apprenticed!", Tawnykit squealed.

 _Great, they've been kits for soooo long,_ Frostkit thought.

"Whaaat?", mewed Gemkit.

"Congratulations", said Frostkit.

Foxkit, Redkit, Tawnykit, and Plaidkit stood proudly on the small perch that Frostkit had made. Snowpelt was washing them. "Foxkit hold your tail high", mewed Snowpelt.

"Alright", Foxkit said. He lifted his tail up.

"Ooh, Dapplestar's coming", Gemkit mewed, excitedly. Heavy footsteps sounded as a dappled she-cat came into the nursery.

"Foxkit, Redkit, Plaidkit, Tawnykit come here", Dapplestar ordered.

Foxkit, Redkit, Plaidkit, and Tawnykit followed Dapplestar as she walked out of the nursery, holding their tails high. "Can we go?", asked Frostkit.

"Fine", Snowpelt mewed. "But stay with me at all times". Gemkit and Frostkit dipped their heads.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Wow, that is so cool!", Gemkit mewed softly.

"Yeah", Frostkit mewed. She picked her dragging tail off the ground and held it high. Gemkit did too.

"Today we are going to do something very important", Dapplestar said. "These four kits are now ready to be apprenticed". "Foxkit you will be Foxpaw and your mentor will be Brownhawk, Redkit you will be Redpaw and your mentor will be Larkcloud, Plaidkit you will be Plaidpaw and your mentor will be Hollowstep, and Tawnykit you will be Tawnypaw and your mentor will be Ravenwatcher". Brownhawk, Larkcloud, Hollowstep, and Ravenwatcher stepped up to the big rock and dipped their heads.

"Foxpaw,

Redpaw,

Plaidpaw,

Tawnypaw!", Thunderclan cheered.

"Thank you", Dapplestar mewed.


	4. Chapter 4 (Frostkit's wish)

**Hi, this is my fourth chapter of this story.**

"OMG", mewed Foxpaw. "I'm an apprentice now!"

"Come on let's go to the apprentices den", Plaidpaw, mewed, enthusiastically. "I want to see what it looks like". Foxpaw, Plaidpaw, Redpaw, and Tawnypaw bounded towards the apprentices den. Now there were Gemkit, Frostkit, Deerkit, Lillykit, Whitekit, Rainkit, Blizzardkit, Finchkit, Hailkit left in the nursery and the three queens. Frostkit padded over to Snowpelt's nest.

"Can I go hunting with Foxpaw?". Foxpaw was the best hunter in Frostkit's sibling's so she wanted to hunt with him.

Snowpelt looked up, "Yes, but don't go past the camp bounderies". Frostkit nodded.

"Where do you want to hunt at?", Frostkit asked.

"What about near the Great Sycamore", Foxpaw suggested.

"Ok". They padded towards the Great Sycamore. Finally they reached it. It's leaves swayed a bit as if they wanted to fly away.

Foxpaw glanced up, "We have to watch for adders and foxes".

"Alright", Frostkit mewed.

She looked around. There! There was a fat rabbit hopping near the Great Sycamore. Frostkit crouched down and stalked toward the rabbit.

"Nice move", Foxpaw whispered.

"Thanks", Frostkit whispered back. Finally she got close to the rabbit. She crouched and then...

...leaped into the air. She sank her claws through the rabbit's neck. Then she clawed at it's throat, killing it.

Foxpaw ran over to her, "Did you catch that?", he asked.

"Yes", Frostkit said, excitedly. Then they bounded to the fresh-kill pile.

"Did you catch that?", asked Dapplestar.

"Yes", Frostkit mewed.

Dapplestar's eyes grew wide, "You did?"

"Yes", repeated Frostkit.

Meanwhile Snowsong, Ravenwatcher, and Spotteddust were admiring her catch. On her other side Sunfang was looking at her catch with pure jealously, "I could have caught that", he muttered. Rowanpaw and Tanglepaw were looking at her too. Even Flowertail and Salmonspot were looking at her.

"Who's gonna eat it?", asked Goosewing. The entire clan grew quiet. Frostkit looked around. Who could she offer this to? She couldn't decide. Then she saw Blizzardkit in the back of the group.

"Blizzardkit may eat it and...". "Larkcloud". Frostkit remembered the grey and white furred she-cat. She had been nice to Frostkit and she thought that Larkcloud could have some of her catch. "And also Goldenheart and Snowpelt". Blizzardkit, Larkcloud, Goldenheart, and Snowpelt padded over to her, their tails swishing, excitedly. Frostkit lowered her head and made a wish.

May our whole clan be safe forever and may it never be destructed.


	5. Chapter 5 (A Visit from the Dark Forest)

**OMG I haven't wrote in sooooo long. Oh well. Here's the next chapter. :D**

Frostkit lifted her head and stretched. Her muscles ached from catching the huge rabbit. She purred. Blizzardkit licked her ears, "You ok?". Frostkit nodded.

"Can we eat now?", Snowpelt mewed, teasingly.

"Yes", Frostkit replied.

Goldenheart ripped off the rabbit's head and shoved it into his mouth. "Hey!", Frostkit mewed. "I wanted to eat that part!".

Then Snowpelt took a bite from the rabbit's stomach.

"Blizzardkit?", Frostkit mewed. Blizzardkit snapped back into focus and ate the rabbit's tail and legs. After he had eaten, Frostkit stepped up to the half-eaten rabbit and chewed on the rest of the rabbit.

"Time to go to sleep", Snowpelt said. She nudged Frostkit toward the nursery. Gemkit was waiting at the entrance. Flyberry and Sweetleaf were already asleep with Deerkit, Lillykit, Whitekit, Rainkit, Finchkit, and Hailkit. Blizzardkit wasn't in the nursery. Snowpelt padded towards their nest and curled up on the moss.

"Come on, let's sleep", Gemkit whispered. She leaped into the nest and landed with a small _thump_. Frostkit walked over to the nest and cuddled in, with Snowpelt and Gemkit. Tired, she quickly fell asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Frostkit", a voice hissed. "It's sooo nice to meet you". Frostkit turned, and saw a ginger, patched, amber eyed cat. The cat walked over to Frostkit and purred.

"You are destined to become leader", the cat mewed.

Frostkit's eyes, widened, "Really?". The cat nodded.

"Who are you?", Frostkit mewed.

"The cat tipped her head on one side, "Mapleshade". Frostkit gasped.

"Y,y,your the cat who betrayed us!", Frostkit stammered.

Mapleshade padded closer to Frostkit, "You shouldn't believe everything you're told". "I need you to make one promise".

"If you promise to be loyal to your clan above all things than... you will get everything you have ever dreamed of including becoming leader".

Frostkit thought about it. _"If you promise to be loyal to your clan above all things than... you will get everything you have ever dreamed of including becoming leader".  
_ That seemed great, but above all things? Frostkit narrowed her eyes at Mapleshade. "No", Frostkit simply said. Mapleshade growled and lunged at Frostkit. Frostkit thrashed managing to swipe her claw against Mapleshade's muzzle once. But Mapleshade pinned her down and hissed. "I tried this once and it worked, but your a lot smarter than that soooo i'll tell you my story"

"I was once a loyal ThunderClan cat, but when I took a RiverClan mate all of that vanished". "I had three kits and my clanmates thought Birchface was my mate until they discovered that I had a RiverClan mate, well more specifically, the medicine cat discovered when I was telling Appledusk about our kits". "So they threw me out of ThunderClan and when my kits and I tried to swim across the river to their father's clan, RiverClan didn't want me either and my kits drowned!". "Then Appledusk blamed me for the deaths of our kits!" "And the worst part is that Appledusk took a RiverClan mate named Reedshine and they lived happily with three kits that soon one of them gave birth to Shellheart, a former RiverClan deputy and then Shellheart mated Rainflower and they had kits!". "Anyway after RiverClan didn't want me I became a loner and tried to seek revenge". "I killed Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and Appledusk. But when I attacked Appledusk, his apprentice was there and gave me a few wounds and then I died". "I earned my place in the Dark Forest". She snarled and hissed, "And now I feel bad about it because I could have been good and went to StarClan and lived happily with my kits". She sighed, "But it's too late".


	6. Chapter 6 (The first death)

**Ok time for the next chapter! ps if you have any ideas let me know in the reviews or private messages:).**

Mapleshade glared at Frostkit. "Aren't you gonna say your sorry?"

"B,b,but why?", Frostkit sputtered.

"You're my kin", Mapleshade spat. "Turn's out you're one of my sibling's great great great great grandkits. Frostkit shivered. She'd heard of Mapleshade as a betrayer, nothing more, but clearly this cat had more details than that.

"Do you know what path i'm going to take?", Frostkit asked, curiously.

"A good one", Mapleshade growled. "But there is a few things that even I can't determine what they are". She shook her head, sadly. "Something bad is going on", Mapleshade hissed. "Hurry!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Frostkit blinked. She was in her nest, and Gemkit and Snowpelt were already awake. Snowpelt nudged her, "Sleepy?" Frostkit shook her head, and yawned. She was tired from talking with Mapleshade. Then she remembered Mapleshade's words. _Something bad is going on. Hurry!_ "Is there something bad going on?", Frostkit asked. Snowpelt nodded, "Come look at this". She padded out of the nursery. Frostkit followed.

They stepped into the cool wind. The breeze ruffled Frostkit's pelt and she shook it away, indignantly. "What is it?", Frostkit mewed, quietly. "Goosewing's dead", Snowpelt replied, softly. They entered the warriors den. Goosewing was lying there, with a lot of warriors crouched around him. His grey fur, hung limp, and his yellow eyes looked blank and cloudy. Bright red blood pooled out of his mouth and claw marks were visible, slashed right across his neck. There were also teeth marks on the middle of Goosewing's throat with a few spurts of blood coming out from there.

"Who killed him?", Frostkit asked. Archsnow shook his head. "No one knows". All the other warriors nodded in agreement.

Dapplestar and Icefrost were crouched near Goosewing's head and they murmured quietly, "Goodbye Goosewing, we'll miss you". Then they lowered there heads, politely, and stepped out of the warriors den to go to dawn patrol.

Frostkit's head was spinning. _Who could've killed Goosewing? Goosewing was always a nice, friendly tom. But whoever_ _did, did it on purpose..._

 **Ha ha finally something scary. Sorry for putting a lot of not scary chapters, but i'm getting there!  
**


	7. Chapter 7 (Captured)

**This is another chapter of this epic story where Frostkit tries to find out who killed Goosewing...**

Snowpelt led her kits out of the warriors den. They headed back towards the nursery. Dapplestar sprang toward them. "Apprentice and Warrior ceremony!", she mewed. Snowpelt dipped her head politely and wrapped her tail around her kits.

"We're going to another ceremony", she whispered. Frostkit and Gemkit squeaked with surprise and cuddled with Snowpelt.

A dark brown tabby tom approached them, narrowing his eyes slightly when he saw that Frostkit and Gemkit had blood stained on their fur.

"What did you do to them?", he growled to Snowpelt. Snowpelt looked at him with shimmering green eyes and mewed, "They happened to get some blood on them from Goosewing".

The cat settled a little and his expression changed from mad to surprised to delighted. "My kits!", he burst out. He licked Frostkit and Gemkit's ears.

"I'm Goldenheart", he meowed. _Oh._ Goldenheart, _as in my father?_

Gemkit looked at Goldenheart with hostility. "You betrayed us!", she snarled. Goldenheart twisted out of the way as Gemkit leaped at him.

Goldenheart looked confused.

"No I didn't!".

"Yes you did", Gemkit shot back.

"Gemkit, I think your talking about Mapleshade not Goldenheart", Snowpelt said, warmly. Gemkit looked embarrased and shrank beneath her pelt, trying to look as small as she could. "Come on let's go to the ceremony", Frostkit mewed, impatiently. Snowpelt and Goldenheart nodded and they headed toward High Rock.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Rainkit you will be Rainpaw and your mentor will be Spotteddust. Blizzardkit you will be Blizzardpaw and your mentor will be Archsnow. Finchkit you will be Finchpaw and your mentor will be Bouncefern and Hailkit you will be Hailpaw and your mentor will be Owlwing".

"Starclan, do you have permission for me to make Rowanpaw and Bramblepaw warriors? Rowanpaw, do you promise to uphold our clan honor and fight for your clan even at the cost of your life?" Rowanpaw nodded. "Then Rowanpaw, you will be Rowanclaw".

"Bramblepaw, do you promise to uphold out clan honor and figh for your clan even at the cost of your life?" Bramblepaw unsheathed his claws and nodded. "Then Bramblepaw, you will be Bramblefur".

"Rainpaw! Blizzardpaw! Finchpaw! Hailpaw! Rowanclaw! Bramblefur!"

0o0o0o0o

Frostkit crept out of camp. She was going to figure out who had killed Goosewing. Suddenly five shadows appeared and said, "Frosssstkit, you will die tomorrow". Frostkit shivered and kept on walking. Soon she saw a light grey she-cat with friendly blue eyes. Frostkit approached her, warily and mewed, "H-hi". The light grey she-cat twisted her head around and stared at Frostkit. She sniffed. "Well you would be good for taking. You have strong muscles, and very nice fur. And Riverclan does need more kits", she said to herself. The cat leaped at Frostkit, snatched her towards a small building, and tossed her towards the entrance. Frostkit landed with a _thump_ and crawled to her feet.

Tired, she padded into the building.


	8. Chapter 8 (RiverClan)

"Well who do we have here?", a cat meowed scornfully. Frostkit shrank beneath her pelt, trying to look small. A ginger tom that was a little older than Frostkit padded over to the entrance.

"My name's Lionkit", he said proudly. "I'm gonna be a apprentice in one moon".

"Er hi? I'm Frostkit".

Lionkit stared at her. "You have white fur. Just like my sister".

"Guppykit! Come here".

A pale white she-cat padded over. She glared at Frostkit. "Where'd you come from?" She sniffed. "ThunderClan?" Frostkit nodded. Guppykit immediately ignored her and went to play with a light gray she-cat. Lionkit turned his head as a voice thundered.

"All cats old enough to swim, gather for a clan meeting". _Why can't I be made an apprentice?,_ Frostkit thought. "Oh it's just a clan meeting", Lionkit meowed. Then he ran over to play with his sisters.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Who are you?", a brown tom with yellow eyes meowed. He turned to the light gray she-cat.

"Stealing. Kits. Again, Smokepelt?" She nodded.

"Well what's this one called?"

"What's your name?", Smokepelt growled. "Frostkit", Frostkit whispered.

The brown tom nodded. "Great name". "Have you been a kit for six moons?" Frostkit nodded. "Come here then". He whisked around and beckoned to Frostkit with his tail. Frostkit scampered after him.

"My name's Troutstar" he said, a few minutes later. "Oh".

Troutstar padded onto a rock and yowled, "All cats old enough to swim, gather for a clan meeting".

Cats came and sat down near the rock. Troutstar's deputy, Brightpelt stood a few tail lengths away from him.

"Frostkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Frostpaw. Your mentor will be Dawnskip. I hope Dawnskip will pass down all she knows on to you."

"Dawnskip come here." Dawnskip padded forward. "Dawnskip, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Rubblestream, and you have shown yourself to be trustworthy and loyal. You will be the mentor of Frostkit, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Frostkit."

Dawnskip padded over to Frostpaw and touched noses with her.

"Frostpaw! Frostpaw!"

Frostpaw looked around and felt sad that her family wasn't there. _I'll tell them all about it,_ Frostkit decided. _Once I find my way back home to ThunderClan._


	9. Chapter 9 (An apprentice of RiverClan)

"Do you want me to show you the camp?" Dawnskip meowed. Her tone was edged with frustration, but she took Frostpaw on a tour of RiverClan.

"That's the nursery," she said, flicking her tail at the small building that Frostpaw had entered.

"And over there is the apprentices den which is where you will sleep."

"Then there's the warriors den which is where I sleep."

"And the farthest den is the elders den."

"The leader's den is in between the apprentices den and the warriors den."

Once she had finished her tour she let Frostpaw get some fresh-kill.

"It's over there," Dawnskip meowed.

Frostpaw padded over to the smell of fish and picked a small one up. She took a bite and wrinkled her nose, "Yuck!"

Troutstar padded over to the fresh kill as well and ate a salmon.

Soon it was time to go to bed so she went to the apprentices den.

Inside, there were three other apprentices. "Hi i'm Carppaw," mewed the beautiful gray she-cat.

"And i'm Lionpaw," mewed a golden tom.

"And i'm Salmonpaw," mewed the light gray tom.

"Hello," Frostpaw meowed.

Exhausted, Frostpaw laid down on the nest and fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10 (Ghostly)

**Author's Note: Wow. It's been a while, hasn't it? I was nine when I wrote this and now I'm almost eleven. I do think I've developed as a writer, I didn't really tell any of you I think, but I switched accounts. I'm more active on Icytopia currently, and I've got much better stories than this. xD Still, I'm going to keep all of this here, not going to rewrite it or anything, because the memories are really nice to look at now and then. I don't know if any of you are even gonna read this but here we go.**

 **The long awaited chapter ten. Last updated, November 16, 2015. By the way, the I messed up on the allegiances, Carppaw and Salmonpaw are also Carpkit, Salmonkit, and Guppykit. One and the same.**

* * *

Frostpaw woke up the next day to brilliant sunlight filling the apprentices' den. It was so different from ThunderClan's, so bright and colorful. The sky was such a blazing blue that she squinted slightly, the early morning causing her to want to just stay in the fresh moss forever.

"Frostpaw, get _up_ already!" Carppaw exclaimed impatiently. Her gray fur, now in the sunlight, actually had streaks of ashen color, creating a little bit of shadow and contrast here and there.

Frostpaw groaned, pushing herself to her paws and shaking out her long white fur. It was flattened by sleep, and it took a few rasps of her tongue to put it back to normal. "Alright, I'm up," she mewed, yawning. "What next?"

"Your mentor wants you," Carppaw explained. The tall she-cat exited from the den, calling over her shoulder, "Hurry up! Dawnskip doesn't like to be waiting."

Frostpaw nodded her head swiftly, following on her denmate's heels as they entered camp. She instantly saw Dawnskip, recognizable by her ginger fur and fiery eyes. Frostpaw scampered toward her mentor, eager to start some training. _I'm gonna be the best warrior in the world!_ Her thoughts of being one of RiverClan had vanished abruptly in her mind, to be replaced by excitement to get to know everyone.

"Dawnskip, I'm...here...," panted Frostpaw, beads of sweat pouring down her forehead.

"And you are late," observed Dawnskip, a slight sneer curling her lips. Why did everybody suddenly seem a whole lot less welcoming?

"Yes," Frostpaw meowed, looking down at her paws. "I'm- sorry."

"You should be," Dawnskip grunted. "My old apprentice was never this early. Must be because you are-" she dashed a glance at Frostpaw, "ThunderClan."

Frostpaw lowered her head, flushing hot red with defiance. Who cared if she was late? She was here now! Why couldn't they just start the training and forget about it. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "What are we doing today?"

"Hunting," Dawnskip answered. "You are way behind the other apprentices."

Frostpaw ignored her last few words and tried to concentrate as Dawnskip taught her how to fish. It seemed so much harder than ThunderClan's hunting technique! Why couldn't they just do the typical hunter's crouch-pounce-on-prey thing?

Exhausted already from their long walk—her short, kit-like legs weren't exactly fit for the terrain—her mind wandered off. Her eyes traveled to the trees rimming the area, filled with the scents of prey. Her mouth watered, and her paws took her in the direction of fresh-kill.

" _Frostpaw_!" scolded Dawnskip, pinning her tail down as she walked in a trance to the trees. "What in the name of StarClan are you doing?"

"Hungry..."

" _What?!_ " hissed Dawnskip.

"Nothing..," Frostpaw quickly meowed. Then her eyes snagged on something among the trees, a dark shape loping through the undergrowth, elegant as a lynx. Its eyes shone through the dark- a remarkable yellow color- she noticed.

"What's that your staring at?" Dawnskip's gaze swiveled to the dark shape. Frostpaw held her breath. "Nothing, is what. Now let's keep going." With a sharp flick of her tail, her mentor led the way along the riverbank, seemingly not noticing the shadow.

 _Is she lying, or does she really not see it?_


End file.
